Iran slams 'repugnant' $20m US reward for nuclear information

INTERNATIONAL BUREAU ???Iran hit out at the United States’ $20 million reward for information on its nuclear programme on Wednesday, calling it “repugnant and regrettable”. Tehran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged the International Atomic Energy Agency and the UN Security Council to condemn the reward, which was announced last week.

Last Friday, the US military said up to $20 million and “possible relocation” were available for information about the programme’s “facilities, equipment, and associated personnel”. “The Islamic Republic of Iran calls upon the UN Secretary-General, the Security Council, and the Director General of the IAEA to condemn this repugnant announcement explicitly and unequivocally,” Araghchi wrote in a letter addressed to all three, repeating Iran’s insistence that its nuclear programme is peaceful.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said Iran’s nuclear programme was effectively obliterated by the brief US strikes on key Iranian nuclear facilities during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June 2025. Since that war, Iran has blocked International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors from visiting bombed facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.

War broke out between Iran and the United States on February 28 when US-Israeli strikes assassinated Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. During the war’s most intense phase, US-Israeli strikes hit Iranian nuclear sites again, but the scale of the damage remains unclear. Diplomatic efforts have been led by Qatar and Pakistan to negotiate an end to the war.

Tehran has insisted Washington accepts a raft of demands, including unfreezing assets and lifting sanctions in return for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the vital energy conduit it has blockaded since the start of the conflict. Araghchi previously said that talks over Iran’s nuclear programme would come at a later stage.

Iran’s nuclear programme has been at the centre of tensions for years. In 2018, during Trump’s first term, the US withdrew from an agreement struck under former President Barack Obama that aimed to stop it developing nuclear weapons in return for sanctions relief.